Chapter 47 The First Small Crack

• (POV: Isabela)
• The days in Mateo’s Miami fortress continued to pass, each one a careful walk on a tightrope over a pit of fire. The wedding loomed, now less than a week away. After the disturbing public events, the attack, and witnessing Mateo’s brutal response, I felt a shift inside me. That raw urge to fight back, to run? It felt stupid now, a sure way to get hurt. He’d shown me, too many times, that he’d crush any open rebellion like it was nothing. That hint of hidden hurt I saw in him in the library? It shook me a little, yes. But it didn't mean he wasn't a threat. It just meant the threat was deeper, harder to understand.
• If I wanted to survive this, to keep even a tiny piece of myself from being completely erased before I was shackled to him permanently, I needed a new strategy. Direct opposition was suicide. Emotional pleas were ignored. Being a pliant doll for his games felt like dying a slow death.